


Fleet Date

by dlodle0



Category: NCIS
Genre: Ellie does some match making, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:00:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26012260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dlodle0/pseuds/dlodle0
Summary: “No. No way. Absolutely not. I’m not signing up for Fleet Date.”“Oh come on!”“Director Vance has one!” Ellie pressed.“Well while I hope Leon finds someone who makes him as happy as Jackie did, I don’t need that. I’m fine, really.”
Relationships: Jethro Gibbs/Jacqueline "Jack" Sloane
Comments: 4
Kudos: 104





	Fleet Date

**Author's Note:**

> My forever thanks to wannabebold for reading over this for me. Sorry it took so long to post!

“I can’t watch you pine over him anymore.” Ellie leaned down the bar to grab Jack’s phone.

“Ellie!” Jack scrambled to reach it before Ellie did. She missed and Ellie let out a triumphant shout before she started tapping away. 

“What are you doing?!”

“Nothing. Nothing.” Ellie laughed and Kasie leaned over to see before laughing herself. “What do you think Kas, this one or this one?”

“Oh the second one for sure!”

“Let me see!” Jack insisted.

Ellie relented, turning the screen. Jack immediately shook her head. “No. No way. Absolutely not. I’m not signing up for Fleet Date.”

“Oh come on!” 

“Director Vance has one!” Ellie pressed.

“Well while I hope Leon finds someone who makes him as happy as Jackie did, I don’t need that. I’m fine, really.” 

“How about this? Ellie and I will set it up and if you don’t use it, no harm no foul.”

“All right. Fine.” She gave in and Ellie’s smile grew. She and Kasie leaned in whispering back and forth for a half hour before Ellie finally gave Jack her phone back.

The profile picture they had picked out was from a trip she and Ellie had taken to Virginia beach a few months before. She was laughing at whatever Ellie had said, smile wide. Looking at the picture she felt the same joy she had in that moment. The phone dinged in her hand, letting her know she was already getting matches. Jack silenced it and blushed the younger women’s teasing. "Oh hush." 

She tucked her phone away and pushed the app out of her mind as they finished up girls night. 

XXX

Jack waved from the window as Ellie pulled off. Sighing, she dropped her purse on the couch and made her way to her room. She changed into her pajamas and pulled her hair back to wash her face. Once she was ready for bed, she grabbed her glasses and her book off of the nightstand before starting to read. After a while her mind started to wander back to the profile Ellie and Kasie had made for her.

Ah what was the worst that could happen, she thought as she got up to find her phone. She laid back down, hesitating with her finger hovering over the app. Sure she had dated a few men since she had moved to DC but if she was being honest, the last few months she had been holding off in hopes that Gibbs would finally take the step she had been waiting for. 

She thought back on all of the times she had thought they were going to stop dancing around their feelings. But every step forward they took seemed to come with two steps back. With a final decision, she opened the app. She took the time to scroll through the app, surprised at the number of matches she had gotten in the few hours since Ellie had signed her up. 

XXX A month later XXX

Jack made her way down the stairs and Nick let out a low whistle, catching all three of his coworkers attention. McGee gave him a look and Nick held his hands up in defense. “I’m just saying she looks good.”

By then, Jack had made her way to their part of the bullpen and smiled at him. “Thank you.”

“Going somewhere special tonight?” McGee asked. Gibbs had gone back to his work but was still listening closely. 

“I am. I’m going on another date.”

“Another one? Isn’t that your third one this week?” Nick asked and Jack blushed slightly.

Ellie perked up at her desk, “You’re taking my advice?”

Jack deflated a bit, looking over at Gibbs desk. She tore her eyes away from him, pulling herself up taller. “Yes, I am.” 

“So who are you going out with?” She asked and Jack started to pull up the profile to show her. She frowned as Gibbs got up from his desk and left the bullpen. 

Ellie oohed and ahhed over the pictures. “Samuel Wells. He’s cute!” 

Jack checked her watch, “Well I better go. Long night for you guys?”

Nick stared after where Gibbs had gone, “I’m sure.” 

“Text me how it goes!” Ellie called after her and then, “Hey Jack! Wait!” 

Jack turned at the elevator, frowning, “What’s wrong?”

“Do you want me to call you?” 

The reminder of three years ago had Jack tense but she nodded. “Nine?”

Ellie nodded back, “Have a good time!”

  
  


XXX

Jack could barely keep her attention on Samuel as he droned on. She had barely been able to get in a word about herself or what she was interested in. She checked her phone for what felt like the hundredth time. It was only 8:30 and Jack was ready to go. She was getting ready to excuse herself to the bathroom when Samuel raised his voice, “You aren’t even listening to me.”

Jack prided herself on being an excellent listener, something that came with her job but she couldn’t deny it. Samuel was clearly angry as he continued, “You just keep looking at your phone and that picture. Who is that you’re with anyway?”

Jack lit up her phone screen again, smiling at the team picture. It had been taken at the one office get together she had ever seen Gibbs at. She was standing next to him and laughing but her favorite thing about the picture was that his eyes were on her and not the camera. “My team.” She answered before grabbing her purse. She took out enough money to cover what she had ordered. “I have to go.”

“What? But you-” 

Jack was already on her feet, heading towards the door, leaving Samuel floundering behind her.

When Ellie called at nine, Jack was already home. “Hey.” Her tone let on just how bad it had been and Ellie sighed. 

“Didn’t work out huh?”

“Well let’s just say there were no fireworks.” She swished the drink in her hand. “Maybe this isn’t a good idea, Ellie.”

“No! Don’t say that! Just because one date was a dud doesn’t mean they all will be. Who knows? You could be this close to finding the man of your dreams. I- Uh.” Ellie paused for a second, “Uh Jack, I gotta go.”

Jack caught the sound of an angry Gibbs in the background, “Are you still at work?”

“Y-yeah. I’ll text you later.”

Jack frowned as Ellie hung up. She got out of bed, changing out of her pajamas. A half hour later, she was strolling into the bullpen. The sound of her footsteps had Nick and Ellie looking up and the former let out a sigh, “Thank God.”

“What was that, Torres?” Gibbs snapped from his desk and Nick shot Jack a look before going back to work.

Jack tilted her head before walking over to Gibbs desk. She leaned onto her hands, getting close to him. “Hey Cowboy. Late night?”

“Yup.” His answer was curt and Jack sighed. 

“What’s going on?”

He didn’t answer the question, countering with one of his own, “Something you need?”

“Actually yes, for you to let your team go home. It’s almost ten o’clock. Regardless of whether you do or not, they need sleep.”

He raised his eyes from the paper on his desk, glaring at her. Jack didn’t back down, glaring just as hard back. Without looking away from him, she spoke to his team. “We’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

There was a rustle of noise behind her as his team rushed to get their things before he could say otherwise. When the bullpen was empty, Jack let her gaze soften. “Hey, what’s going on?” She asked again.

Gibbs grabbed his coat as he stood. Without a word, he breezed past her, leaving her alone in the dimly lit bullpen. 

XXX

As soon as he was home, Gibbs made his way down the basement and pulled out a fresh bottle of bourbon. Opening it, he didn’t waste any time getting a glass, choosing to drink straight from the bottle. He knew Jack had been right about his team needing to go home and if there had been any doubt, it had been erased by the way they had all looked like superwoman had arrived when she had walked in. He ran his hand roughly down his face. 

“Should’ve made your move before, Probie.” The familiar voice had him sighing. This was not what he needed right now.

“I know.” 

“But it’s not too late to tell her how you feel.”

“She moved on, Mike. I can’t.” He looked up to see his mentor but Mike was already gone. The thought of Jack out with someone else made him feel almost sick. Doing his best to get the thought out of his mind, he grabbed his tools and got to work on the boat.

XXX

“Gibbs isn’t normally this late.” Ellie was perched on the edge of McGee’s desk as she so often was. McGee took another doughnut out of the box she had brought in,

“Are you really complaining after last night? If Jack hadn’t come in, who knows how long we would have been here.”

“Yeah, I guess it’s a good thing her date sucked.” Nick joined in and Ellie gave him a soft glare. 

McGee frowned, midway through taking a bite of doughnut. He swallowed before asking, “How do you know it sucked?”

Nick gave him a look as if he was stupid, “What woman do you know that would come into work after a good date?” 

McGee shrugged, agreeing. The elevator door dinged and Ellie hopped off of McGee’s desk, glancing to see who it was. 

Instead of Gibbs who they were expecting, Jack came around the corner. “Good morning!”

“Morning.” They echoed and she took in the bullpen.

“He’s not in yet?”

“Not yet.” McGee answered. 

“And you haven’t called him?” Jack checked her watch, “It’s almost 9:30, come on guys!”

“I told you!” Ellie insisted, turning to McGee.

“Told him what, Bishop?”

“Uh nothing.” Ellie answered Gibbs as she quickly hopped off McGee’s desk to go to her own. Jack watched as the team buried their heads in their computers. She came around to Gibbs desk, echoing her motions from the night before.

This time he didn’t pretend to ignore her, looking at her right away. “What?”

“Are you okay?” Her voice was soft and sincere, low enough that his team wouldn’t be able to hear. “You’re late and-” Gibbs held up a box to cut her off and Jack’s eyes widened. “You got a smartphone?”

He tossed the box onto the desk, looking at it with disgust. “Apparently they don’t sell flip phones anymore.”

Jack laughed at his annoyance, covering her mouth when he glared up at her. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I just-” She shook her head, still laughing. “Here. Come up to my office and let me help you set it up?” 

He turned to his computer, “I’ll do it later.”

Jack frowned at the dismissal but brushed it off as him being annoyed at the change. “All right.” She caught his eye before she walked away, “Be safe.” 

  
  


XXX

A slow day without a case meant that while they caught up on paperwork meant that for once they would finally be able to go out for lunch. Ellie was just about to grab her purse to head down to meet up with Kasie when Gibbs got up, tossing the shiny new smartphone to McGee, “Get that set up.” He told his senior field agent before leaving.

McGee sighed, “Guess I’m not making it to lunch then.” 

Ellie gave him a sympathetic look, “I can bring you something back?” She offered. “That burger you like?”

“That sounds great. Thanks Ellie.” He got to work on setting up the phone and Ellie patted his shoulder before going to meet Kasie. 

XXX

“What time did you guys get to go home last night?” Kasie asked as their food arrived. Ellie took a bite of her burger and swallowed before answering.

“Around 9:30. Jack came in and saved us.” She swirled her fry around in the ketchup as she thought. “Gibbs was extra grumpy last night.”

“Any idea why?”

Ellie laughed, “Yeah I’ve got one. The fact that Jack went on another date. Any night she’s gone out, he’s kept us late. That’s just the first time she’s caught onto it.”

“Do you think she knows?”

“I don’t know.” Ellie swirled around another fry before a thought hit her. “It’s your turn to pay right?”

“Uh yeah. Why?”

Ellie grabbed her purse and jacket, “I’ll see you back at the office.”

“Ellie!”

XXX

  
  


Ellie hurried into the bullpen, a smile spread over her face. She saw the phone sitting on Gibbs' desk and pointed at it. “Is that done?” She asked.

“Yeah. Hey! Bishop! What are you doing?” McGee asked as she sat down at Gibbs desk and grabbed the phone. 

“Relax McGee!” She swiped up, surprised that the phone had a passcode on it. “I’ll be quick! What’s the passcode?”

“If he sees you, you’re dead meat.” 

She groaned and typed in 1234, laughing when it unlocked.“Then cover for me!” 

McGee shook his head, “No way. I’m not getting involved in whatever you’re doing.”

“Nick?” Ellie asked as she opened the app store to find Fleet Date and waited for it to download. 

“What are you even doing?” He asked, coming to stand in front of the desk and watching the elevator.

“I’m downloading Fleet Date.”

That caught McGee’s attention, “Ellie, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“Oh come on McGee! He’s been miserable since Jack started dating. You really want to stay here late again?” 

The senior field agent thought about it for a minute, “It would be nice if I could help  Delilah put the kids to bed…”

“Exactly.” Ellie grinned at him as she finished putting the profile together. “There. Done.”

“Incoming.” Nick told her and Ellie quickly put the phone back, hopping up. 

“Going to see Jack." She called over her shoulder as she all but ran up the stairs.

Gibbs watched her but didn't say anything as he sat down to drink his coffee. 

Jack looked up as her door swung open, "Hey. Got something for me?" 

"Nope." Ellie dropped onto the couch. "Just coming to say hi." 

Jack laughed, taking another bite of her salad. "Slow day?"

"Yeah." She had brought a cold case with her and opened it, reading through as she laid on the couch. The two women spent the evening working in silence. By the time six had rolled around their work had been forgotten and they were sitting close together on the couch as Jack scrolled through Fleet Date. 

"What about him?" Ellie asked about the man on the screen and Jack wrinkled her nose. "No?"

"I'll pass." Jack laughed and swiped away. She checked the time, "I think I'm going to head home." She tossed Ellie the keys to her office, "You can stay here until you're done."

  
  


Ellie gave her a grateful smile, happy to be away from a grumpy Gibbs. "Thank you."

Jack smiled back and waved as she headed out. She was just passing the MTAC sign when she heard her name being called. 

She looked down at the bullpen, smile growing when she realized who was calling her name. She leaned over the rail to call back, "Yeah Cowboy?"

"Have you seen Bishop?" 

"She's in my office going over a cold case. Do you need her?"

"Nah." He waved her off. "You going out again tonight?" 

Jack shook her head, "I'm just going home. Did you need something?”

"No. Night, Jack."

“Good night.” 

Gibbs let his team go shortly after Jack left, not wanting a repeat of the night before.

XXX

He was just sitting down to eat when his phone made a noise. Already annoyed, he pulled it out. Seeing a notification from Fleet Date, he frowned opening the app. His screen filled with a vibrant picture of Jack and he put down his fork. “Probie, stop staring and do something. Don’t wanna lose another one now do ya?

“Don’t know what you’re talkin about Mike.”

“Sure ya do Probie. You got three ex-wives and an ex-lady Director to show for it.” Gibbs rolled his eyes at the voice, finding it annoying but far too accurate. “Don’t let this one slip away cause of those rules.”

“You’re part of why those rules were created Mike!” 

“Probie, when have you ever known me to follow the rules.” Gibbs shook his head, knowing he was right. “Besides, it’s not like that one hasn’t been broken before.” At Gibbs look of bewilderment, the voice continued. “Oh come on. McGee and Abby. DiNozzo and David. Hell, your current agents barely follow Rule 12. I say burn it like you did Rule 10. It’ll be better for everyone.” 

“If I do this, will you shut up?” He asked, looking back at the profile.

“Go get your woman.” Mike answered and as Gibbs clicked the like button, Mike disappeared leaving him alone to stare at what he had done.

XXX

Jack was scrolling through the app, the feeling of disappointment growing with each profile she clicked through. She had been on at least 10 different dates in the past month but none of the men she had met had matched up to Gibbs. As hard as she was trying to move on, she just couldn’t let go of the hope that one day it would all work out. She was just about to close the app when it popped up with a new profile for her to look at.  _ You have one new match. _

Jack pulled up the profile and felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of him on her screen. The picture Ellie had chosen was the same one as her lock screen. Not knowing that it was Ellie’s doing, she was sure he had wanted her to see this. Before she could lose the nerve, she got out of bed and hurried through the rain out to her car. By the time she was pulling onto his street it was pouring. Just as she pulled into his drive the mini cooper stalled and Jack got out darting through the storm to pound on his door. 

“Open up!!” She shouted above the thunder and the door swung open. 

“Jack, what the hell are you doing?” He grabbed her arm pulling her inside. 

“What am I doing? What are you doing?” She pushed her soaking wet hair out of her face. “You could have just said something. You didn’t need to make an account on Fleet Date to get my attention.”

“I didn’t.”

The soaring feeling in Jack’s stomach crashed, “Oh. Oh! I-” Jack turned away from him, face flooding with embarrassment. “Can we just forget this happened?”

“No. I mean I didn’t make the account.”

His words had her turning back around. “Don’t lie to me.” She snapped, “If you didn’t want me to know, you shouldn’t have tried to match with me.” She felt the anger rise up in her, cursing the fact that she was stuck there, wanting nothing more than to go home and curl up with a bottle of whiskey.

“I mean it. It wasn’t me.” He insisted and Jack rolled her eyes. 

“Who else would have….” A light bulb went off in her head and her anger at him disappeared. “Ellie.”

“What about her?”   
  


Jack sighed, “Can I dry off and then we can talk?”

“You know where towels are. I’ll get a fire going.” He was already turning away, “Bring your clothes down when you’re done and I’ll throw them in the dryer.”

The reminder that she didn’t have a spare set of clothes had Jack pausing on the staircase. She had just opened her mouth to speak when he beat her to it. “Shirts are in the second drawer, pants in the third.” 

Jack was glad there was a wall between them as she blushed at the thought of wearing his clothes. It didn’t take her long to find a USMC sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants. She pulled the pants on and folded the band over a few times so they fit better before going back downstairs. He had pulled a chair from the dining room so it was in front of the fireplace. “Sit.” He told her as he handed her a cup of coffee. She took a sip, surprised to find it at just the right sweetness. 

“Thank you.”

He hummed an answer as he stoked the fire. “So what about Bishop?”

“I’d bet you just about anything that she’s the one who downloaded that app and made your profile.” He raised an eyebrow and Jack smiled, “How do you think I got one? She said she was tired of watching me wait around for you.”

He looked down at his coffee, slightly ashamed by how many chances had Jack given him and each time he had thrown them away. Slowly he raised his eyes to hers. “You don’t have to wait anymore.” 

“Please don’t do this if you don’t mean it. I’ve been working my ass off to get over you.”

“And if I mean it?”

“Then I guess I don’t need to work on it anymore. And I can get rid of this.” Holding her phone up, she made a point to show him that she was deleting her profile. Smiling, he held his phone out to her. 

“I would but I can barely call on this thing.” Laughing, she grabbed his phone, guessing the password on the first try, and deleted his profile too. She handed it back, still laughing at his face as he stared down at it. 

“I’ll find you a new flip phone.” She promised and he smiled as he looked back at her. 

“Knew I loved you for a reason.”

Jack took a second to take in his words but before she could say anything, the dryer went off and he got up to go get her clothes.

Outside, the rain had stopped. Jack looked out the window at her car as he came back “I’d say I should go home but uh- my car broke down. Any chance you can help me with that?”

He chuckled remembering their first meeting. “Is it actually broken down this time?” He teased and Jack faked a hurt look.

“I would never lie to you.”

“You sure did that day.”

“You caught me.” She held up her hands but they were both still smiling. “But I mean it this time. So can you help or not?”

“In the morning,” He put out the fire, extending a hand out to her. 

“And just where are we going?” She asked though she took his hand as she stood.

“To bed.” 

“You? Bed?” Jack laughed, “Pretty sure I’ve never heard those words in the same sentence before.” 

“Would ya just come on?” He tugged her hand and led her up the stairs. At the top of the stairs. Jack went to pull away to go into the guest room and his grip tightened. 

Jack frowned as she turned. “What’s wrong?” 

“Who said anything about you sleeping in there?” 

Jack had only stayed over a few times before, one of which being Christmas two years ago and every time, she had stayed in the guest room. The idea that she was now being welcomed into his room made her feel warm all over. Mistaking her silence for discomfort, Gibbs pushed her still damp hair behind her ear. “Just sleep. We don’t have to do anything else.”

She nodded and followed him into the room. He took the side closest to the door which didn’t surprise her in any way. She slipped off the sweatpants and pulled back the covers. As she settled into the pillows, she took a deep breath taking in the scent of his bed. It smelt just like him, sawdust and coffee with a small hint of bourbon though Jack wasn’t entirely sure the last one was the bed and not just his breath. “Hey?” She whispered into the darkness and she felt him roll onto his side to face her. “I love you too.”

His lips pressed lightly against hers, “Good night.”

XXX

“You’re telling me you don’t think that it’s weird that he’s late again?” 

“Bishop, let it go. It’s probably just a coincidence.” McGee sighed. “I just want to enjoy my coffee in peace.”

Ellie’s forehead crinkled and she looked over at Nick for support. He nodded, “It’s kinda weird. Plus he-”

“Doesn’t believe in coincidences.” Gibbs finished for him as he breezed through the bullpen, Jack next to him. He tossed a shattered smartphone at McGee who caught it, “Get rid of that will ya?”

“S-sure thing, Boss.” He hardly had time to respond as Gibbs and Jack hadn’t stopped, merely walked by as they headed for the stairs. Ellie watched as they ascended the stairs. She watched as their hands brushed and neither of them pulled away. 

“Did you see that?” She asked Nick.

“See what?”

“Oh never mind.” She turned to go back to her desk.

“Ellie!” Jack called her name, smiling down at her. “Can you come to my office?”

“What did you do?” McGee asked and Ellie shrugged. 

“I’m sure it’s just about one of her dates.” Ellie nabbed her phone off of her desk before heading up to meet her. She stepped into Jack’s office and hesitated when she saw both Gibbs and Jack, sitting on the couch. “Uh- Hi.”

“Good morning.” Jack held out her container of lollipops. “Want one?   
  


“No thank you.” Ellie took the seat across from them, still frowning. “What’s going on?”

“I think that’s what we’d like to ask you. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about Gibbs having a Fleet Date profile he didn’t set up would you?” Jack had tucked her feet under her and raised an eyebrow, doing her best to look slightly upset.

“You do?” Ellie did her best to play it off and be surprised but one swift glare from Gibbs had her breaking. “Okay okay. How did you know it was me?”

“Who else would it have been?”

“Are you mad?”

“Mad, no. Irritated? A bit.”

“I’m sorry I just thought if I could give you guys a push in the right direction then- Wait.” She suddenly realized they had been holding hands the entire time. “I was right!”

“You were. But that doesn’t mean what you did was the right thing.” Jack looked at her seriously. 

“I know, I know but you guys just kept doing the whole will we, won’t we thing and you were so miserable, Jack. I just wanted you guys to be happy.”

  
  


XXX

Once they were done talking, Ellie left Gibbs and Jack in her office as she all but skipped back to her desk. Both McGee and Nick looked up as she sat at her desk, humming quietly.

“What’s got you so happy?” McGee asked and Ellie looked up at the hall that led to Jack’s office. 

“Oh. I just have a feeling we won’t have any late nights for a while.”

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean my plan worked. I got Jack to download Fleet App and then I accidentally knocked Gibbs old phone into a puddle so he would have to get a new one. I bribed the phone guy to force Gibbs to get a smartphone so I could download the app to his phone and boom. They were forced to confront what’s been there all along.”

McGee shook his head, “There’s no way. Gibbs would never break rule 12.” 

“If you don’t believe me, just wait and see.” 

He didn’t have to wait long. Gibbs came out of the office, leaning over the railing to call to his team. “Grab your gear.” 

He was just about to start down the stairs when Jack hurried out of her office and grabbed his arm before he could get too far. He looked back at her and she raised up to press a kiss to his cheek. “Be safe.”

Ellie watched the scene and then looked at a stunned McGee with a smirk on her face. “Told ya so.” 


End file.
